Epoch
by Whyler S
Summary: The beginnings of Severus Snape, the slow destruction of a family, the hope of magic and the magic of hope. Rating may change to M, please read the warnings inside.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** Please read this note before continuing on to the fic.

There is a lot of Tobias and Eileen in this fic, a few OCs, time-skipping-jumping-whatever, and the normal inaccuracies of an American writing British people.

Warning for: domestic abuse, profanity, violence, character death, psychological trauma, and mentions and abuse of alcohol.

* * *

His life began on a cold January morning, the sun yet to rise and warm the air, and nearly ends twice before his first day is over. His survival was treated as a miracle by the doctors and nurses swarming Eileen Snape. Tobias sat and watched, mind still befuddled from lack of sleep and his hangover. Adrenaline can't last forever, even when inspired by his wife's screams and threats, and he could hardly believe his luck. The doctors told Eileen it would be a difficult pregnancy, but she wanted the boy, and now Tobias was a father not six months after he became a husband at the age of twenty-two.

The boy, his son, nearly died before he was even born, and almost took Eileen with him. It was as if the universe was determined to keep him from living, and far be it from Tobias to speak against the universe - especially when the boy dying would make his own life easier. Tobias was not a family man; he had dreams of his own, and while Eileen was pretty, she wasn't worth this family nonsense. If Tobias wasn't raised a gentleman, he would've left her seven months ago when she told him she was pregnant, instead of marrying her like he did. He even had a steady job! It was far away from his dreams of owning his own business (preferably a good old pub, but he wouldn't say no to a little corner store), but the pay was a lot more reliable. This was what was expected of him to do after he knocked his girlfriend up and her folks threw her out, so Tobias figured he was owed strong drink, especially after sitting there in the hospital for hours as his new wife screamed and threatened him.

It took him back to the way his father had been with his own wife. Not Tobias' mother, but the mother of five half-siblings after Tobias and his twin sister. Their own mother died in childbirth, much as it seemed Eileen would. Hannah was a good step-mum, though. The triplets kept her busy while Tobias was finishing up school, but the years before that were only good memories. Still, she wasn't used to a life of poverty, and it took its toll on her. Poor Josiah Snape was run to the ground, trying to provide for his wife and kids. Yes, Hannah was a good woman and a good mum, but she was a screeching bitch of a wife. Tobias and Tracey were witnesses to all three trips to the hospital, and of the chaos and shrieking, especially with the triplets. Tobias didn't know when it started, but soon Hannah was the one in charge, and Josiah was nothing but a shell.

Eileen was quiet and solitary, but she was independent and raised to be an heiress of some kind. Tobias wasn't going to turn into his dad and end up dead of exhaustion with the last years of his life dictated by his own wife. He might marry the girl and he might even play dad to their son, but Tobias had his own life to pursue. He wouldn't let Eileen, or the kid, or anything change that.

And, leaving the hospital and his _family_ behind, Tobias went to he nearest bar and toasted his promise to himself with the strong drink he deserved.

* * *

Eileen didn't know where Tobias ran off to, but she was going to hex him into next week for leaving her alone at the hospital. No sooner did the doctor assure them that both Eileen and their son would be healthy than he took off, likely for a pub. She snorted as she smoothed down the flimsy hospital sheets, ignoring the pungent smell of bleach wafting through the air. Cokeworth Hospital was no St. Mungo's, and the discoloration on her pillows was probably blood, but she was just happy that the little hospital provided the quiet she wanted during the birth.

She shuddered. Everyone told her it would be painful, that she could be in labor for hours, but she didn't expect everything to be so horrifying. Her scare last month where both she and her son nearly perished was bad enough. No one said anything about if the infant she just delivered refused to breathe. Fortunately, that soon fixed (though Eileen doubted the Muggle doctors had much to do with it), though the peace did not last. Eileen wasn't sure what happened, just that the machines beeped and the Muggles rushed around for a good half-hour before someone came to tell her that her son would be fine, though she couldn't take him home just then.

Forgotten in the face of her son's peril, Eileen relaxed as much as possible and waited for news. She didn't even name the boy yet, but she already worried over him, hoping he wouldn't die. She left her family for her Halfblood child - she didn't want that child to die.

Tobias was supposed to help her name their child, but Tobias wasn't there. Eileen wracked her head for a name. The babe was a Halfblood, but he was a Prince, and his name would reflect that. Eileen was named after her grandmother, who married into the Prince family, as was the custom for most Prince females. Prince males, especially heirs, which her son would be if she wasn't disowned, had regal names as befit their heritage.

Among the new, upstart families like Prewitt, Crabbe, and Black, the Prince family traditions were doubly important to keep. The Prince line could be traced past the time of Merlin, who was actually descended from the Prince family, as was the Peverell brothers who most of the new Pureblood families were descended from. Her son had to have a name that would stand above those families and mark him as a Prince. However, her son was also half Muggle, and would need a name that would pay tribute to that side of his heritage.

Thinking of Tobias and his absence, Eileen scowled. Her son would be named Severus, and in the Pureblood fashion, he would take his father's name as his middle name. If Tobias wanted any say in the name of his child, then he should have stuck around.

* * *

"You named him what?"

"Severus," Eileen repeated, her voice cold. "His name is Severus Tobias Snape."

"What kind of name is Severus?" asked Tobias. Poor kid was going to have a nightmare of a childhood with a name like that. What was Eileen thinking? He got it, he did - she was an heiress and wanted to name her first son after her father or something, which would be just fine if the kid was living his life as a Prince, instead of a Snape. Tobias was a working man, not some bloody aristocrat. Their kid was not going to be rubbing elbows with future bankers and barristers.

"It's the perfect name for someone of the Prince line," said Eileen.

"Damn it, Eileen!" Tobias yelled. "You couldn't have chosen something that wouldn't get him laughed at whenever he introduces himself to someone?"

Eileen jutted out her chin, her dark eyebrows bent in anger. "If you wanted a different name, maybe you should have been around to name him."

Oh, hell no! Tobias wasn't going to let her twist this on him. He may not have been there, but she was the one who cursed their son with the name _Severus_. He was completely innocent in this matter. Anyone would have the sense not to name their child something so bloody ridiculous! Tobias knew Eileen was young, that she was probably only just out of school, but there was no way she didn't realize that she wasn't living in bloody Prince Palace anymore or wherever it was she came from. People just weren't named things like _Severus_! This was the real world; couldn't she have chosen a _real_ name?

"You shut up. I'm not the one who named him, you are, and your taking responsibility," growled Tobias, brushing past her.

They had a few more days before they could take _Severus_ home. Until then, Tobias was going to see if he could just drink away the past year.

* * *

**A/N:** Thank you very much for reading! I appreciate all comments and criticisms, so feel free to leave me a review with whatever you want to say. :)


	2. Chapter 2

The house they moved into, after Severus outgrew his cradle, was close to the cotton mill where Tobias found a job after being fired from his previous workplace. It was two stories, brick, and square. While small, for a family of three it was plenty. The downstairs kitchen was crowded with the addition of a table, but there wasn't enough room in the living room for the table what with the couch and telly. Upstairs was split into two bedrooms and one bathroom. Both bedrooms were the same size, but Eileen claimed the one with the window overlooking the river for Severus. It wasn't much of a view, but better than nothing.

Some of their furniture didn't survive the move, including their bed. Neither Eileen or Tobias was happy about that, but it couldn't be helped, and so they settled for a hard day's work of moving in to their new home. Eileen counted it a blessing that Severus' crib didn't break.

Finally, after a day of backbreaking work, she pushed back her sweaty hair, drying in curls around her face, and started hanging up curtains and putting away the plates and bowls. Tobias went out to get some fish and chips for dinner, and with Severus fast asleep, they ate the greasy food by candlelight - the house didn't come with lightbulbs, apparently. Tobias could hardly keep the satisfied grin off his face as he looked around the house and Eileen just smiled. She would be twenty in a month and she was married to a handsome, if Muggle, man and had a lovely baby boy. They had a new house, which didn't look like much, but it belonged to them and there was plenty of room for another child, if Tobias were to agree...

The serenity took a hit when it was time for bed and Eileen realized that her husband expected her to sleep on the floor while he took the couch.

"Absolutely not," she said, scandalized. Everyone knew that a gentleman would take the floor before allowing a lady to! What was Tobias thinking?

"Eileen, I've got to be at the mill at five tomorrow and it's nearly twelve right now," Tobias explained. "I need to get some rest or I'll be dead on my feet."

"Don't be ridiculous. I'm a lady and a Prince! I'm not sleeping on the floor," scoffed Eileen.

Tobias snorted. "Yeah, sure. In case you forgot, you're a Snape now, Eileen. Snapes do what they got to do. You have to sleep on the floor for a few hours, 'cause I got to go to work, cause even Severus needs to eat."

"A gentleman would take the floor," Eileen sniffed.

"I'm not a gentleman, then, I guess, even though I married you without even knowing a thing about you besides you were knocked up. Didn't even ask if he was mine or not," replied Tobias with a glare.

"Of course he's your son!" shrieked Eileen. "I would never - I never - Severus is _your_ son and I don't ever want you to imply otherwise! What kind of man are you to question your own wife's honor?"

"I didn't say anything about your _honor_, though I can't see how much of it you have left, having a kid at nineteen - barely even legal," sneered Tobias. "Just make yourself comfortable on the floor."

Eileen withdrew as if she'd been struck. While she could admit to making a few suspect decisions (rebelling from her father's plans for a marriage contract with the detestable Magnus MacDonald - who was two years ahead of her, in Gryffindor, and utterly infatuated with the Muggleborn Melody Marcus - by running off with a Muggle) she never thought Tobias, of all people, would say anything. Did he think he was blameless? Well he wasn't!

"And what have you got to say about honor, sleeping with a 'barely legal' girl?" she demanded.

Faster than she could follow, Tobias slapped her.

"I married you when I could have left. Should have left," he told her.

Eileen stood frozen while Tobias went to claim the couch. Her trembling fingers traced the stinging skin he'd no doubt left a mark on without thinking, clumsy Muggle that he was. No matter what Tobias said, Eileen knew then that he was no gentleman. For the first time, she had pushed him too far, and at the moment she only felt grateful she hadn't said half the things she was thinking of him.

By the time Tobias' snores alerted her that he was asleep, she was sobbing in their empty bedroom, wondering if Tobias really wished he left while he had the chance.

* * *

Working at the mill was exhausting, but Tobias was promoted after a fortunate incident where he saved three other men from an unfortunate fire. One man died in the fire and the mill's business took a hit, especially as the bored Cokeworth newspaper ran the story for as long as they could. Soon, a good third of Tobias' former coworkers were dismissed and their homes were evacuated by the holidays.

As Christmas drew nearer and nearer, Tobias found himself wondering about what to get Eileen. Their relationship was rockier than it ever had been, since their last argument just last November, and every time she looked at him her expression soured. The thought crossed his mind that it probably had something to do with the black eye he'd given her, but she'd deserved it. Her criticisms were unwelcome; Tobias was hardworking man who was carving out a life for his family at the expense of the dreams he would rather pursue. He could care less about whether Severus was walking or crawling as long as the bills were paid and there was money left over for food.

By Christmas Eve, he had a slight idea of what to get her, and took off for the shops. The necklace he wanted was one of the cheaper ones, being mostly made out of delicately twisting wire rather than loaded with precious stones, with a single emerald teardrop hanging from the center. She would love it, and it wouldn't even dip into their savings too much, considering he was buying it from a pawn shop. Best yet, she would soon have the chance to show it off, as they were both invited to a Christmas party the mill's manager (whose son was one of the men Tobias saved) was hosting. It would be a wonderful night out, and Tracey (who was recently married and returned from a honeymoon in France) already agreed to watch Severus.

Tobias set off for home with a spring in his step and a song on his lips, necklace in his jacket pocket. He presented it to Eileen on Christmas Morning, after they both watched Severus happily gnaw on the ear of his new stuffed bear while sitting on a pile of wrapping paper.

"Oh, Tobias!" she gasped, looking at him with round eyes. "Can we afford it?"

"Yes," he said, and fastened it around her neck.

Severus cooed and gurgled as Eileen hugged Tobias tight. Tobias just smiled and winked at the tot, his heart lightened. For today, at least, his worries were gone.

By the time they were ready to leave for the Flyte's that evening, the house had a definite warm glow around it. Tobias and Severus shared a gingerbread biscuit that Tracey brought over while he talked with his twin and waited for Eileen to finish getting ready. His rented tux felt weird, especially around the shoulders, and his bowtie was horribly uncomfortable, but Tobias ignored it. Tracey brought her husband with her and finally getting to meet his twin's husband made up for everything.

At five o'clock sharp, Eileen walked down the stairs, the click of her heels drawing attention to her. Tobias felt a warmth spread through him as he looked at her, smiling at him. She was a very thin woman, with a long face and thick eyebrows, but there was no denying that Eileen was beautiful woman when she smiled. Nicer-looking than him, at least, who had a beak for a nose and crooked teeth. While he would be obviously uncomfortable in his formal clothes, there was a way that Eileen walked in her long, black dress that was very telling of her days as an heiress. With her hair pulled back and pinned up, a coat of lipstick, and the teardrop emerald just falling into the hollow of her collarbone, Eileen was even more beautiful than she was on their wedding day.

Well, they'd been married in the Town Hall, so perhaps that wasn't the best comparison.

"You look beautiful," he told her.

She smiled wistfully. "I'd kiss you, but it would smear my lipstick. How long is this party going to be?"

"We'll leave early," promised Tobias.

Tracey laughed and tickled Severus. "You two have fun, and don't forget to pick up Severus tomorrow!"

"Merry Christmas to you, too, Trae," said Tobias.

* * *

**A/N:** Thank you for reading! Please review and let me know what you thought.


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